NBC?s Domenico Montanaro discusses the top political stories of the day, including the new NBC/WSJ poll that will be released tonight on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams at 6:30pmET.
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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46149655/
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MOGADISHU, Somalia ? U.S. Special Forces troops flew into Somalia on a nighttime helicopter raid early Wednesday, freed an American and a Danish hostage and killed nine of the kidnappers in a mission that President Barack Obama said he personally authorized.
The Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were freed and “are on their way to be reunited with their families.”
The raiders came in very quickly, catching the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening, a pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press by phone. Hussein said he was not present at the site but had spoken with other pirates who were, and that they told him nine pirates had been killed in the raid and three were missing.
A second pirate who gave his name as Ahmed Hashi said two helicopters attacked at about 2 a.m. about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Somali town of Adado where the hostages were being held.
Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, were working with a de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council when they were kidnapped in October.
The U.S. military’s Africa Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, confirmed that nine kidnappers were killed.
“Last night’s mission, boldly conducted by some of our nation’s most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces, exemplifies United States Africa Command’s mission to protect Americans and American interests in Africa,” said Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command.
Obama seemed to refer to the mission before his State of the Union address in Washington Tuesday night. By then it was already Wednesday morning in Somalia. As he entered the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol, Obama pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said, “Good job tonight.”
“As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House Wednesday. He said he had authorized the rescue mission on Monday.
“Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being,” Obama said. “The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice.”
A Western official said the helicopters and the hostages flew to a U.S. military base called Camp Lemonnier in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti after the raid. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been released publicly.
The timing of the raid may have been made more urgent by a medical condition. The Danish Refugee Council had been trying to work with Somali elders to win the hostages’ freedom but had found little success.
“One of the hostages has a disease that was very serious and that had to be solved,” Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal told Denmark’s TV2 channel. Soevndal did not provide any more details.
Soevndal congratulated the Americans for the raid and said he had been informed of the action.
Panetta visited Camp Lemonnier just over a month ago. A key U.S. ally in this region, Djibouti has the only U.S. base in sub-Saharan Africa. It hosts the military’s Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.
The Danish Refugee Council said both freed hostages are unharmed “and at a safe location.” The group said in a separate statement that the two “are on their way to be reunited with their families.”
Ann Mary Olsen, head of the Danish Refugee Council’s international department, was the one who informed the family of Hagen Thisted of the successful military operation.
“They (the family) were very happy and incredibly relieved that it is over,” she said.
The two aid workers appear to have been kidnapped by criminals ? sometimes referred to as pirates ? and not by Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab. As large ships at sea have increased their defenses against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making opportunities like land-based kidnappings.
The Danish Refugee Council had earlier enlisted traditional Somali elders and members of civil society to seek the release of the two hostages.
“We are really happy with the successful release of the innocents kidnapped by evildoers,” said Mohamud Sahal, an elder in Galkayo town, by phone. “They were guests who were treated brutally. That was against Islam and our culture … These men (pirates) have spoiled our good customs and culture, so Somalis should fight back.”
Buchanan and Hagen Thisted were seized in October from the portion of Galkayo town under the control of a government-allied clan militia. The aid agency has said that Somalis held demonstrations demanding the pair’s quick release.
Their Somali colleague was detained by police on suspicion of being involved in their kidnapping.
The two hostages were working in northern Somalia for the Danish Demining Group, whose experts have been clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.
Several hostages are still being held in Somalia, including a British tourist, two Spanish doctors seized from neighboring Kenya, and an American journalist kidnapped on Saturday.
___
Associated Press reporters Jason Straziuso in Nairobi, Kenya, and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this report. Houreld reported from Nairobi.
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LONDON ? Passengers stepping out of London Bridge tube station cannot help but crane their necks to gaze at the jagged tower under construction: The Shard is the tallest building in the European Union and looks like a slice of glass balanced on the edge of the financial district.
When the tower opens next year, visitors to the observation deck will see helicopters fly by at eye level and take in the metropolis all the way to the distant north Downs Hills. The structure designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano dwarfs nearby landmarks like Tower Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The ambitious project speaks of now faded boom times: 1.5 billion pound ($2.34 billion) price tag, fancy restaurants, corporate office space, posh hotel. But it is being completed as Britain and Europe totter on the brink of recession ? and the Shard will loom over a city in decline.
Neighbors are hoping the dramatic tower, visible from most parts of London, will bring big spenders to its south-of-the-river location, for centuries the less prosperous side of the Thames.
“I like the design, I like the promise. I think it’s going to blast this neighborhood out of the water,” said Cherille McNeil-Halward, 71, who runs a picture framing shop a few minutes away from the Shard. “This tower will bring people with money to spend here, and that’s got to be a good thing.”
There is no question that the Shard is a riveting addition to the traditionally low-rise London skyline. But some complain it dominates the view, obscuring sights such as St. Paul’s impressive dome.
The developer Irvine Sellar sees the project as a symbol of London’s status as a world city. The 310 meter (1,016 ft) building is designed by an Italian, financed by the Qatar government, and the Chinese hotel group Shangri-La were the first tenants to sign up.
“We want this building to be a building Londoners will feel ownership of,” said Sellar. “You can eat there, you can work there, you can sleep there. And you can see the view from there.”
The building’s exterior will be finished in June but it is unlikely to open until early next year. It will open in a truly historic neighborhood, close to the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe, and Borough Market.
In fact, the ultra-modern Shard sits at the edge of ancient London. The first Roman settlement Londinium was nearby on the banks of the Thames. Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” was set in the streets behind the Shard.
The developers conceived the project more than 11 years ago when there was a financial appetite for building tall. But it generated almost immediate opposition from conservation groups who didn’t want the fabric of the city changed.
English Heritage and other groups complained that the design did not fit in with the surrounding architecture, but were overruled.
Prince Charles, who has waged a passionate campaign against modern architecture, wryly referred to the Shard as “an enormous salt cellar” shortly after it won planning permission but has not formally tried to block the project.
Last year UNESCO said it is reviewing the status of the Tower of London as a World Heritage Site, partly because of the way the Shard and other buildings loom over its courtyard.
The future of the building is still not secure. Along with Shangri-La, some restaurants have signed leases, Sellar said, but most of the office space has not yet been rented at a time when many London-based businesses are striving to reduce costs.
A report by Barclays Capital published this month finds a correlation between the construction of skyscrapers and financial crises, concluding that ambitious building projects often open just as the economy declines.
It cites the economic and oil crises of the early 1970s, which coincided with the completion of the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago. In Malaysia the building of the Petronas Towers coincided with the Asian economic crisis on 1997. And in Dubai the Burj Khalifa ? the world’s tallest building ? went up as the emirate almost went bust.
The Shard itself was hit by the credit crunch. Sellar secured funding from investment bank Credit Suisse in 2008, but the bank pulled out after Lehman Brothers crashed in September of that year. Eventually the central bank of Qatar stepped in to finance the project.
Other tall buildings have been built in recent years as London has become a more vertical city ? including Norman Foster’s famous “Gherkin.” But the Shard dominates them all, and is likely to become a prominent symbol of London.
“You are going to see this building from everywhere in the city,” said Jonathan Glancey, architecture critic at The Guardian newspaper. “It is going be the building that says `this is London,’ and the message it is going to send is that London is brash, shiny and pretty bling.”
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Calcalist reports that Apple is hiring a number of chip experts to fill up their new Isreali research center — the one aimed at developing new chip configurations that could
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Lu1KpoQb8Y4/story01.htm
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TAMPA, Fla. ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is slamming Newt Gingrich on a slew of issues, labeling him a failed leader.
The two rivals are part of Monday night’s presidential debate in Tampa, Fla.
Asked about the former House speaker’s electability, Romney says Gingrich led Republicans to historic losses and that Gingrich resigned in disgrace. Romney says members of Gingrich’s own team voted to reprimand him.
Romney is also highlighting Gingrich’s ties to mortgage lender Freddie Mac. He says Gingrich was hired directly by a lobbyist for Freddie Mac and says it’s a liability that would cost Republicans the general election.
In response, Gingrich says Romney is engaging in “disinformation” and he promises to dispute charges on his website. He says Romney is engaging in trivial politics.
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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? The family of Brandon Tartikoff — the youngest programming chief in NBC history — has donated the late television and film executive’s collection of correspondence and effects to the University of Southern California, the school said Monday.
George Lucas, a USC alumnus and benefactor, had urged Tartikoff’s widow, Lilly Tartikoff, to make the donation. Lilly Tartikoff will officially present the documents to Lucas in a USC School of Cinematic Arts ceremony in the fall.
“We are very grateful to Lilly Tartikoff for this unique and generous gift,” Lucas said in a statement. “It is a staggering collection for students of television and popular culture, providing rare insight into the mind and achievements of arguably one of the most prominent and influential creative executives in television history.”
The collection includes more than 4,000 pieces of correspondence that Tartikoff sent and received between 1979 and 1992.
According to USC, the letters pertain “to programming and project evaluations during his storied reign at NBC, as well as personal correspondences, such as letters of congratulations to then new morning show host David Letterman.”
The letters have been unavailable to the public since Tartikoff died in 1997 from Hodgkin’s Disease.
“Brandon would be delighted to know that his papers were being made available to SCA students,” Lilly Tartikoff said in a statement. “He was in many ways a teacher himself, and loved sharing his experiences in this business with others coming up the ranks.”
Tartikoff brought NBC from the No. 3 to the No. 1 network and is credited for the original concepts and blueprints of “The Cosby Show,” “Miami Vice,” “The Golden Girls,” “The A-Team” and “Hill Street Blues.”
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TORONTO ? BlackBerry maker Research in Motion’s co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, announced they have stepped down as co-CEOs and co-chairmen of the once-iconic company that has struggled to compete in recent years.
The RIM founders have been replaced by Thorsten Heins, a chief operating officer who joined RIM four years ago from Siemens AG, RIM said Sunday.
The Canadian company turned the email smartphone into a ubiquitous device that many could not live without, but U.S. users have moved on to flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple’s iPhone and various competing models that run Google’s Android software. RIM has suffered a series of setbacks and has lost tens of billions in market value.
RIM said last month that new phones deemed critical to the company’s future would be delayed until late this year. And its PlayBook tablet, RIM’s answer to the Apple iPad, failed to gain consumer support, forcing the company to deeply discount it to move the devices off store shelves.
Many shareholders and analysts have said a change or sale of the company has been needed, but the sudden departure of the two founders from their top jobs wasn’t expected despite their promises that they would examine the co-CEO and co-chairmen structure.
Balsillie and Lazaridis have long been celebrated as Canadian heroes, even appearing in the country’s citizenship guide for new immigrants as models of success. They headed Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM together for the past two decades.
“There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim and I went to the board and told them that we thought that time was now,” Lazaridis said in a statement.
Lazaridis will take on a new role as vice chairman of RIM’s board and chairman of the board’s new innovation committee. Balsillie remains a member of the board.
The two remain two of RIM’s biggest shareholders.
“I agree this is the right time to pass the baton to new leadership, and I have complete confidence in Thorsten, the management team and the company,” Balsillie said in the statement. “I remain a significant shareholder and a director and, of course, they will have my full support.”
Analysts have said RIM’s future depends on its much-delayed new software platform as RIM has tried and failed to reinvigorate the BlackBerry. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said in late 2010 that RIM would have a hard time catching up to Apple because RIM has been forced to move beyond its area of strength and into unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company.
Heins, 54, said Lazaridis and Balsillie took RIM in the right direction and said he’s committed to the new software.
“We are more confident than ever that was the right path. It is Mike and Jim’s continued unwillingness to sacrifice long-term value for short-term gain which has made RIM the great company that it is today. I share that philosophy and am very excited about the company’s future,” Heins said.
Barbara Stymiest, a former chief operating officer of the Royal Bank of Canada who has been a member of RIM’s board since 2007, has named chair of the board of directors. RIM also announced that Prem Watsa, the chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, is a new board member. Watsa has become a significant shareholder.
Lazaridis said he was so confident in the future direction of the company that he intends to purchase an additional $50 million of the company’s shares on the open market.
RIM was worth more than $70 billion a few years ago but now has a market value of $8.9 billion.
The company still has 75 million active subscribers, but many analysts believe RIM will lose market share internationally as it has in the U.S. Market researcher NPD Group said RIM’s market share of smartphones in the U.S. declined from 44 percent in 2009 to 10 percent in 2011.
Balsillie acknowledged in December that the last few quarters have been among the most challenging times in the company’s history.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
An international team of researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and other institutions has uncovered 13 genetic loci, linked to immune function and DNA repair, that are factors in the age of onset of menopause.
Menopause — the cessation of reproductive function of the ovaries — is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early 50s. Most prior studies of the age of onset of menopause have focused on genes from the estrogen-production pathway or vascular components.
In the new study, published online Jan. 22 in Nature Genetics, a research team led by Kathryn Lunetta, professor of biostatistics at the BU School of Public Health, and Joanne Murabito, associate professor of medicine at the BU School of Medicine, identified 13 novel loci associated with menopause onset, while confirming four previously established loci. Most of the 17 loci are associated with genes related to DNA damage repair or auto-immune disease; others are linked to hormonal regulation.
“Our findings demonstrate the role of genes which regulate DNA repair and immune function, as well as genes affecting neuroendocrine pathways of ovarian function in regulating age at menopause, indicating the process of aging is involved in both somatic and germ line aging” the authors said.
Lunetta said the new findings “bring us closer to understanding the genetic basis for the timing of menopause. They may also provide clues to the genetic basis of early onset or premature menopause and reduced fertility.
“We hope that as a better understanding of the biologic effects of these menopause-related variants are uncovered, we will gain new insights into the connections between menopause and cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and other traits related to aging, and that this will provide avenues for prevention and treatment of these conditions,” she said.
According to Murabito, director of the research clinic at the Framingham Heart Study, “It will be important to determine if a genetic variant that directly influences age at menopause also increases risk for later life health conditions, such as breast cancer.”
The authors said they expected further research to identify “a substantial number of additional common variants” that impact age of menopause, and that many of them will be located in genes identified in their study. The study examined more than 50,000 women of European descent who had experienced menopause between the ages of 40 and 60.
The research team noted that a large-scale study of menopause onset in African-American women is underway, which will help to determine whether the genetic variations that affect menopause onset in African-American women are similar or substantially different for women of primarily European descent.
Besides Lunetta and Murabito, senior authors on the study include: Anna Murray, a senior lecturer in genetics at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter (UK); and Jenny A. Visser, a scientist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands).
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Boston University Medical Center: http://www.bmc.org
Thanks to Boston University Medical Center for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116942/Study_finds_new_genetic_loci_associated_with_menopause_onset
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NEW YORK ? Halliburton is reporting that its net income jumped nearly 50 percent in the final three months of 2011 as rising oil prices sparked new drilling projects.
The Houston company posted earnings of $906 million Monday, or 98 cents per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with $605 million, or 66 cents per share, for the same part of 2010.
Excluding a $15 million charge, Halliburton earned $1 per share in the quarter. Revenue increased 36.9 percent to $7.06 billion.
For the full year, Halliburton Co. earned $2.84 billion, or $3.08 per share, compared with $1.84 billion, or $2.02 per share, in 2010. Annual revenue increased 38.1 percent to $24.8 billion.
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